"Got it." Gaara set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.
Gaara had already agreed to this ranking match earlier; Naruto had simply only just returned.
Strangely, though, even while Naruto was away, Shukaku inside Gaara's stomach still hadn't made any moves.
Instead, he had become more proactive about talking to Gaara, even telling him to stay away from that red-eyed crow and that particularly fierce-looking man.
Gaara recognized those two pairs of eyes. They shared the same origin as Sasuke's eyes: the Sharingan, the signature trait of the Uchiha Clan renowned throughout the Shinobi World, said to be able to see through everything.
Since Rasa had assigned people to watch him from childhood, and Shukaku, the Tailed Beast in his stomach, also influenced him, Gaara wasn't very good at history.
On top of that, the four great Shinobi Villages other than Konoha had deliberately downplayed that humiliating stretch of history.
That stretch when the Wood Human and Susanoo swept across the Five Great Nations and casually accomplished the arduous task of capturing the Nine Tailed Beasts had left a certain Black Liquid Creature hiding behind the scenes practically crying with envy.
Unfortunately, that fellow Hashirama had actually distributed the Tailed Beasts. Black Zetsu had hidden pitifully underground, watching the Nine Tailed Beasts being handed out as his plan to save his mother drifted out of reach once again.
Gaara glanced at the half-finished charcoal-grilled Pacific saury, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes, then stood and walked toward the blond boy gleaming in the sunlight.
"Let's go... Naruto."
Kankuro had something to do today, so Temari was looking after the kid. She stood up as well.
"You go ahead. The arena again, right? I'll come over once I've packed up."
Temari put the things on the table into